Summertime Daze
by Pikachu Ate My Muffin
Summary: The summer's heat has reached its peak, and Kano suggests the Mekakushi Dan take a group trip. What results is a blushing Marry, a furious Momo, an unwilling Shintaro, a giant spider, and more than one revelation. Birthday one-shot for my friend Riley. [Although this is not a romance, it includes pairings]


**AN: This is a one-shot, so don't expect a continuation. That aside, thank you for reading! I'm not a die-hard Kagerou Project fan, but I do hope I've portrayed the characters correctly. Reviews are appreciated, and have a nice day.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Mekaku City Actors, the manga or any of the Kagerou Project franchise, although that would be pretty cool...**

* * *

The lazy hum of cicadas encased the whole of the room despite being in the center of the city. Even with the air conditioning on full blast, the summer's heat hit us like a wave. Kido tapped on her game console furiously, lips contorted into a scowl. She had her hood off for once, letting the dark green tresses spread out behind her head.

Seto released a groan as he leaned back, sweat trickling down the side of his head. I paced back and forth while Momo and Hibiya attempted to teach Konoha how to play a fairly simple card game. "So" he paused in his drawling statement to look at the card blankly, "this is a spade?"

"Yes!" Momo exclaimed in exasperation, her patience wearing thin. Hibiya yawned and blinked blearily at the two.

A ball of light-haired fluff walked past the group with light footsteps, her face buried in a small notebook. "What rhymes with 'ai'?" she mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Ah, Marry-chan! What are you doing?" I asked, leaning forward to smile at her.

"N-n-n-nothing!" she stuttered out, quickly dashing away with her head down.

Seto sighed and rose from his seat to go after the small girl. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, then began making his way down an adjoining hallway.

"What?!" Momo exclaimed, throwing her cards down with wide eyes. "How is that even possible?!"

"I won?" Konoha quietly said.

Hibiya put his head in his hands. "I don't understand it either."

Turning my attention away from the group of three, I walked over to Kido and leaned over her shoulder to watch her play. "What do you want, Kano?" she said monotonously.

"So, I've been thinking" I began in a sing-song voice.

"Uh-huh?" she inclined despite her tone of disinterest.

"What if we went on a vacation?"

She paused her game and stared at the frozen screen for a moment before turning around to look up at me. Her expression was that of confusion. I took that as a sign to continue.

"Like, maybe we could go to the sea or a lake, as a group. We could call it the Mekakushi Dan Ultimate Getaway!" I spun on my heel and raised my hands at the end for a finishing touch.

She waited with an unchanging expression for a few seconds. Then turning back to her game, she finally replied "sure, but you have to convince everyone to go."

* * *

"Hello" I sang with a tilt of my head. Shintaro looked at me with exasperation, almost as if my very existence brought him physical agony.

"Hey, Master look! It's Kano!" Ene exclaimed, floating closer to the screen of his phone.

"I know who it is."

"Really? Because you were looking pretty dumbfounded for a moment there."

"Shut up, Ene" he snapped.

"Take it back" she hissed.

"Why should I?"

"You know that expensive MMO you just downloaded?" she asked in a sly tone of voice.

Shintaro was silent. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

He was quiet once again. "Fine, I take it back."

"Good job, Master. That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

"Um" I cut in, raising my hand, "if you don't mind, I'd like to state why I'm here." Shinatro's gaze rose from his phone, and he nodded. "Right; we're all heading to the lake tomorrow and staying overnight in one of the cabins. Well, Kido said we could only if everyone came, and that includes you" I said with a smile, pointing at the two in the doorway.

"Yes!" Ene complied.

"No" Shintaro objected.

"Master!" The digital girl argued.

"C'mon. It's boiling hot out here, and I know that even shut-ins need some fresh air every once in a while" I said in an attempt to convince him.

"No, we don't, because that'd be totally contradictory to the term 'shut-in'."

"Hmm" I mumbled, contemplating a phrase that would get him to come with us. "I'll do your homework."

"No."

"I'll buy you a video game."

"No."

"I'll take Ene for a week."

"Tempting, but no."

"Oh well. I guess there really is nothing I can say to convince you" I said with an over-dramatic shrug of my shoulders. He tried shutting the door but I shoved my foot in the entryway; "although-"

"Wonderful, there's more" he spoke with absolute sarcasm.

"-I guess we could go without two people. If so, Momo-chan will be attending, and I've been thinking that I'll room with her" I said with a sly grin.

Shintaro yanked the door open with a thorough frown. "I'll go" he he said in a low octave before slamming the door in my face.

* * *

We took a bus the campgrounds the next day, and after arriving in the near vicinity, we had to walk a mile trail to reach the cabin. Marry ran out of breath about five minutes in due to her low stamina, so Seto had to carry her on his back the rest of the way.

"This looks like something out of a horror movie" Momo said immediately upon finding our cabin.

The small building sat in the shade of many tall, dark oaks and the lawn was overgrown with foliage. Creeping quietly behind the ginger girl, I quickly grabbed her shoulders and exclaimed "boo!"

She jumped a foot in the air and ran to her brother, clutching his arm with a death grip. "Baka Kano!" she yelled.

I cackled until Kido gave me a withering look. "Hehe, gomen."

Marry gently tapped Seto's shoulder, and he slowly lowered her back onto the ground. Her cheeks were tinted with a pink blush, and once noticing the tall teen asked "what's wrong, Marry?"

Her face became a bright crimson. "N-n-nothing! Everything's fine! Why wouldn't it be fine?" she stuttered. The short girl glanced around with further embarrassment before pulling up her hood and lowering her head.

"Okay, first order of business, who is going inside to search for any crazy ax murderers?" I asked in a cheery tone. I was met with silence. "No one? Then I nominate Shintaro! All in favor raise their hands!" I chimed, holding my arm up.

Palms flashed upward throughout the group, and Momo raised hers while saying "sorry, Onii-chan."

"Alright! Go for it Master!" Ene loudly encouraged.

"B-but" he began to object, although he soon realized what a hopeless task it was. "I didn't even want to come in the first place" he muttered while reluctantly trudging forward.

When he reached the doorway, he looked back and I gave him a thumb up. He sighed and walked inside. Five minutes passed, and then Seto said "how long should we wait before sending someone in after him?"

Everyone paused to consider his question. We didn't have to think about it for too long. Merely seconds later a bedraggled Shintaro jogged outside, out of breath and face a mask of surprise.

"No crazy ax murderers, but there was something in there, I think it was a spider, but it was around the size of Marry" he informed.

Said girl squealed and buried herself further into the hoodie. Seto patted her head in a comforting manner.

"Haha, you're kidding, right Onii-chan?" Momo asked nervously.

"I wish."

Kido quietly made her way over to a thick batch of trees, picked up a large stick, and began walking towards the house. "Come on you batch of wimps, let's kill this mutant."

* * *

Two terrified screams, three giant branches, a case of heatstroke, and one giant squished spider later:

The sun had set and the sound of chirping crickets filled the small cabin. Once the place had been swept and the fireplace ignited, the room had a somewhat homey feel to it.

"Seriously, how?" Momo asked in complete shock. Konoha had won Dominoes for the third time in a row. Momo was growing irritated, Shintaro was preoccupied with his phone, and Hibiya just looked thoroughly bored with the game. Konoha shrugged and asked if they could play another round. The younger Kisaragi complied yet again.

Seto and Marry had disappeared quite some time ago, and I was pretty sure that Kido was upstairs doing only Kami knows what.

Without making a sound, I opened the door to the back patio and stepped outside. Sitting down on the deck, I leaned back while supporting my weight with my palms. The stars shone bright that night, and the moon was the sliver of a crescent. Barely visible but very much present.

I laid back while crossing my arms over my eyes and allowed the cool night air to graze my skin. _Onee-chan would have very much enjoyed this_, I thought. Ayano loved friendly gatherings such as this one, and I was positively she'd have a great time.

My chest throbbed painfully, and I tried pushing it away. I couldn't spoil this for everyone; I couldn't spoil it for myself. I could already feel the dark thoughts scratching at the back of my mind, squirming their way in with black tendrils.

I found myself in this position often, completely vulnerable to my abusive mind. At times I considered telling someone, but I could never bring myself to do it. No one understood, how could they? All too often I would resurface with a brand new wall, another emotional divider between me and the world.

"Kano" spoke a quiet voice. I jerked in surprise and shot up from the cool wood patio.

"Kido, how-" I trailed off, noticing the color of her eyes fade from red back to black. "You snuck up on me" I stated, not understanding why she would find the necessity to do that.

"Sorry, I just, I mean..." she reached forward, and caught a tear with her thumb. A tear that I hadn't realized I'd shed.

I quickly backtracked while slapping on a smiling mask. "N-no, everything's fine. Nice night, huh?" I tapped my index finger anxiously against the hard surface beneath us, hoping she would brush past the entire thing.

"Shuuya" she said in a soft tone. A rustling sound came from my left; Kido and I both jolted. She pinned me against the deck, her eyes once again glowing bright red. She put a finger to her lips, instructing me to keep quiet.

Marry and Seto emerged from the forest. The pink-eyed girl was still unable to shake the blush that had adorned her cheeks the majority of the day. She trailed her taller counterpart, and when they stepped into the light emanating from inside, Marry reached out to grasp Seto's wrist.

"S-Seto" she started, her voice high pitched.

"What is it, Marry?" he asked, turning to her.

"I've b-been meaning to t-t-tell you this for a while, b-but I..." she trailed off, her gaze lowering to her feet. Seto crouched down so they could speak while eye to eye.

"It's okay, you can tell me" he gently coaxed.

"I-I-I like you!" she exclaimed, her face flushed red. "No, wait, it's not just like, it's, I... I love you!"

The poor girl looked about ready to pass out from embarrassment. She balled her hands into fists and refused to meet the dark-haired male's eyes.

Leaning closer, he lightly kissed her on the cheek. Marry's eyes widened and her gaze met his. He chuckled. "So that's what you've been mumbling about these past few days. I was wondering why you kept saying 'ai' under your breath. Baka" he whispered. "I love you too."

As the shorter girl embraced her longtime friend, Kido and I still laid there in complete awe. "Did that really just happen?" I whispered in her ear.

"I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out if this a dream."

Soon after that the two scampered inside, and we were alone yet again.

"You can get off me now" I reminded Kido, laying my head back against the rough wood.

"Not just yet" she snapped at me. I looked up in shock. "First, you're going to tell why you were crying."

"I wasn't" I swiftly replied.

"You were" she stated, her serious expression leaving no room for argument.

I sighed. "You're making me look like a timid shota" I drawled.

"Tough luck" she growled out.

"You know, how about we forget about all of this and get on with our lives?" I asked with a small smile, hoping to charm my way out of this one.

"Nice try, Shuuya. I'm immune to all your tricks, giggles and smirks."

"Dammit" I muttered under my breath."  
When I looked back up, Kido was glancing away with a pained expression. "Tsubomi" I whispered.

"I don't..." she took a deep breath, "I don't know what you're going through, and I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to understand. I just, I want you to know that you don't have to suffer alone."

The air in my lungs stilled, and I was speechless in that moment.

"When Ayano died, you started acting strange. Sure, you were smiling and laughing, but it was _different_. Now every time I look at you, all I can see is this deep sadness. The others have noticed it too. So please understand," her voice hitched, and she blinked back tears. "We all care about you, Shuuya. We love you. _I _love you."

She turned back to meet my gaze. I lay still. It was like a warmth began to spread throughout my body. It started with my fingers, inching its way across my skin, replacing the numbness with something much more comforting. I inhaled deeply, and began to sit up. As the warmth spread, I found I was able to move my limbs again. Reaching forward, I softly grasped the sides of her face.

I kissed her. It was feather light and short, but so amazing. It was more than I could have ever imagined. _I am in love with this girl_, I thought, almost unable to believe this new revelation. When our lips parted from each others', Tsubomi just stared at me for a moment.

She definitely hadn't expected me to do that of all things. For a second I thought she would slap me or kick me off the deck, but instead she blinked again and moved to sit next to me. We looked up at the stars together.

With slight hesitance, she moved her hand until it was atop mine. I laced our fingers together. The moon glimmered softly down on us as an exclamation of defeat resounded through the cabin. "Dammit, Onii-chan! First Konoha, then you!" Momo exclaimed. That was quickly followed by Ene's raucous laughter.

Tsubomi turned her head to glance inside the cabin with a small smile. "We'll be okay, right Shuuya?"

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard Ayano's chiming laughter. "Yeah, I'm sure we will."


End file.
